The Beans

Harvesting
Coffee on the plant is a fruit much like a cherry with a pit for seeds. Like cherries coffee develops a red (or in some cases yellow) color as it ripens. In the harvesting of the cherries being careful to pick only the ripe cherries is of utmost importance. Unripe cherries leave unpleasant woody, grassy, and undeveloped off-flavors in the final brew.

Unfortunately it has become all too common practice in the industry to severely underpay the pickers (which are typically hired seasonally), which leads to the understandable result of pickers stripping the plant just to increase their poundage. As an observer once said, “One can’t blame the pickers for just stripping the plant when their mind is on simply making enough to put food on the table.” When people are paid to treat the coffee as a commodity, the unfortunate result is that the people themselves are treated like a commodity.

However, some small farms, recognizing the quality benefits of having a more skilled harvesting staff, have begun to change the business model to one the involves training, emphasis on quality over quantity, and most importantly a focus on paying workers a more decent wage. These steps are small but crucial to coffee becoming a sustainable product.